Climate Change Advocate Norway subsidizes Fossil Fuels Five times more than Renewable Energy

Norway has been hailed as the toughest cutter of Greenhouse Gas Emissions amongst the devloped countries promising to cut Carbon Emissions by 30-40% by 2020 from the 1990 Levels.Compared to this USA has promised a measily 17% cut from 2005 levels and the EU only 20% by 2020 from 1990 levels.Norway’s cost of cutting emissions is also quite huge $200 a tons of Carbon Dioxide.Norway has also promised to cut Carbon Emissions internally rather than buying cheap carbon credits from abroad using its massive sovereign fund.Note the Cap and Trade Kyoto Protocol has been criticized for being ineffectual in curbing Global Warming.However a NGO reveal today that Norway’s spending on Fossil Fuel Subsidies is $1.4 Billion annually which is 5 times more than on its Subsidy for Greener Forms of Energy.Note $550 Billion is spent worldwide on subsidizing Fossil Fuel Energy which is multiples of that spend on Renewable Energy.Norway is a major Oil Producer and its Huge Sovereign Fund of $450 Billion has been built mainly through Oil Revenues.Therefore the massive subsidies on Oil is not surprising though incompatible with its commitment towards Climate Change.

Marius Holm, deputy director of the Bellona Foundation, said in an interview that petroleum firms received some 9 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.4 billion) in subsidies in 2009, compared with 1.8 billion that went to the renewable sector.

Holm said that oil subsidies had increased from 6.3 billion crowns in 2008 and 5.4 billion crowns in 2007.The subsidies for renewables increased as well, from 500 million crowns in 2008, but are expected to plateau next year at between 500 million and 1 billion crowns, he said.Holm said the figures came from the Norwegian tax office and a government agency responsible for renewables.

The “Climate Cure,” outlined by state-run agencies to guide deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, said costs would range up to 1,100 to 1,500 crowns ($188-$256) per tonne of avoided carbon dioxide emissions.That is way above a current price of about 13 euros ($17.85) per tonne in the European Union market. Even so, one main scenario in the 300-page report projected only a 0.25 percent cut in the projected size of the oil-dependent economy by 2020.

Norway has set a unilateral goal of cutting emissions by 30 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, and by 40 percent if other nations sign up for deep cuts as part of a new U.N. treaty to slow desertification, heatwaves, flooding and rising sea levels.Norway wants at least two-thirds of its cuts to be achieved domestically, rather than by a cheaper option of buying quotas on foreign markets or by investing abroad, for instance by protecting the Amazon rainforests or building wind farms.

Sneha Shah

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